REPORT TITLE:
Judges Evaluations; Merit Pay



DESCRIPTION:
Requires the judicial selection commission to establish and
report on a proposal to establish a merit pay system for judges
based upon judicial evaluations. (SD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        3177
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO JUDGES.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1 
 2      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that in late 1990, the
 
 3 Hawaii supreme court created a special committee on judicial
 
 4 performance that subsequently established the supreme court's
 
 5 judicial evaluation program.  The legislature further finds that
 
 6 there are approximately seventy-three full-time appellate and
 
 7 trial judges, if all vacancies are filled.  During the nine years
 
 8 since the committee began its work, thirty-four judges have been
 
 9 officially evaluated, and the data needed for additional
 
10 evaluations has been collected.  However, because there is no
 
11 statutory requirement for judicial evaluations nor for public
 
12 involvement in such evalutions, it is difficult to assess the
 
13 efficacy of the evalution program.
 
14      The legislature firmly believes that a judicial evaluation
 
15 program plays an essential role in maintaining the public's
 
16 confidence in the judicial process.  In addition, the legislature
 
17 recognizes that such an evaluation program improves judicial
 
18 performance by providing systematic feedback to judges on their
 
19 strengths, their weaknesses, and how others view their
 
20 performance.  
 

 
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 1      Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to:
 
 2      (1)  Require the judiciary to study and report to the
 
 3           legislature on how to establish a merit-based judicial
 
 4           pay system; and
 
 5      (2)  Establish criteria that may be considered in
 
 6           determining judicial merit.
 
 7      SECTION 2.  The judiciary, in cooperation with the judicial
 
 8 selection commission, the judicial salary commission, and the
 
 9 Hawaii state bar association, shall conduct a study to determine
 
10 the most appropriate method by which a system of higher judicial
 
11 pay based on merit may be implemented.  As part of the study, the
 
12 judiciary shall determine a recommended timetable for
 
13 implementation of merit pay, and shall develop recommendations
 
14 for how judicial evaluations should be presented to individual
 
15 judges and used to help individual judges address weaknesses when
 
16 necessary.  The judiciary shall submit a report of its findings
 
17 and recommendations to the legislature no later than twenty days
 
18 prior to the convening of the 2001 regular session.
 
19      SECTION 3.  The factors to be considered in conducting a
 
20 judicial performance evaluation may include:
 
21      (1)  Legal knowledge and analysis, including knowledge of
 
22           the law, ability to analyze legal precedent and make
 
23           well-reasoned extrapolations of what the law should or
 

 
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 1           would be in a new area, ability to correctly apply the
 
 2           law to specific factual circumstances, ability to
 
 3           recognize and consider a reasonable argument for a
 
 4           change in the law, and consistency and supportability
 
 5           of legal conclusions;
 
 6      (2)  Factual analysis, including ability to listen, ability
 
 7           to grasp complex factual situations, ability to pick
 
 8           out important facts, ability to accurately assess
 
 9           witness reliability, ability to empathize with people
 
10           from different backgrounds and of widely different
 
11           personalities, willingness to keep an open mind, and
 
12           consistency and supportability of findings of fact;
 
13      (3)  Control of courtroom or hearing, including knowledge of
 
14           procedural rules, ability to control the courtroom,
 
15           ability to keep hearings and trials on schedule,
 
16           ability to move cases expeditiously through the system,
 
17           willingness to take an active role in pre-trial
 
18           processes such as discovery disputes and settlement and
 
19           alternative dispute resolution discussions, and ability
 
20           to balance speed of resolution with fairness to all
 
21           participants in a case;
 
22      (5)  Interaction with litigants, attorneys, court staff, and
 
23           other judges, including courtesy and professional
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           behavior inside and out of the courtroom, and ability
 
 2           to avoid favoritism or the appearance of favoritism;
 
 3           and
 
 4      (6)  Interaction with the public, including willingness to
 
 5           spend time educating the public about the judiciary,
 
 6           appropriate public demeanor, ability to comply with all
 
 7           rules regarding judicial conduct, and ability to avoid
 
 8           impropriety or the appearance of impropriety.
 
 9 The popularity of any decision by a judge shall not be considered
 
10 as a factor in that judge's performance evaluation.  
 
11      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.